I heard about this tech a year or two ago via a woodworking friend, but it's in the news today because of a /. - ing. Apparently the safety sawblade may become mandatory on tablesaws(See the Consumer Product Safety Commission public comments here, here, and here), but for what reason? Is it to protect our precious digits or to set the stage to dissect them?

Just wait until this technology is used in reverse, and the saws start up when they sense human flesh. Meanwhile the human populace is lulled into thinking that it's their divinely granted human right to have the sawblade drop away when it touches their Palmolive soaked fingers.